


Heard

by aamunkoitto



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Castiel & Charlie Bradbury Friendship, Detective Benny Lafitte, Detective Dean Winchester, F/M, Hurt Castiel, Hurt Charlie, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Murder Mystery, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-09 23:52:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5560732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aamunkoitto/pseuds/aamunkoitto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the third victim is found, detectives Winchester and Lafitte are desperate to find clues who's behind the murders- desperate enough to rely on a psychic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dean groaned and followed his brother reluctantly around the area. His first Saturday night off in a long time and where was he forced to spend it?

In a fucking carnival. 

Usually he would have loved all this but he was so goddamn tired. The noises caused him a headache, the lights hurt his eyes and the different smells made him sick. And his feet kept dragging on the ground- the only thing keeping him from collapsing on some bench to sleep was Sam pulling his hand almost painfully. Fucking little brothers. A movie night at home would have been good too.

"Come on, Dean! Justin told me that the psychic was freakishly good!" And really? Was his brother twentythree or three? It seemed that Sam had regressed during his time in college. Or maybe it was something that happened to every college student because of exhaustion, Dean didn't know.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming the fastest I can", Dean mumbled the last part but Sam still cast a calculative gaze on him.

"You should lay off the pies", he simply stated and Dean's jaw hit the ground. 

"How dare you! I'm luscious, you ignorant peasant", Dean said in mock-offence and put a hand to over his heart. Sam just rolled his eyes and kept walking. Dean followed him to a purple tent in front of which was a long line.

"Seriously?" Dean asked and gestured towards all the people standing there. Did Sam really expect him to spend his night standing here and waiting to get his hand read by someone who most likely was just a phony?

Apparently yes.

It was frustrating but with the help of Candy Crush, Dean managed to wait in the line for 20 minutes before it was their turn. Dean rolled his eyes when Sam went in maybe a little too eagerly and left Dean there waiting for another few minutes. He picked his nails, trying to listen in on what was happening in the tent. It was surprisingly difficult to his disappointment. When Sam stepped out his eyes were wide with wonder and he was stared at his hand.

"Dean, you gotta go in there, he's- he's incredible". Dean raised his brow and entered the tent curiously.

In the end of the darkly lit space sat a man by a little round table, decorated with jewelry and whatnot, wearing some sort of flowy, light gown and lots of rings on his fingers. There was only a few candles there, apparently to create more mysterious atmosphere, so Dean couldn't see that well what the man looked like.

"Welcome. You-", the man started but Dean waved him off rudely, "Yeah, yeah, cut the crap and get down to business", and sat down in to the chair across from him and stuck his hand to the table.

"As you wish", the man said, not offended. He must be used to people shrugging him off.  
The man took his hand gently into his and closed his eyes.

"You have a brother who you love very much", he stated. Sam must've babbled this guy's ear off, so there was a chance the guy was winging it. The man smiled. "And you love your car too, very much". Dean almost chuckled, of course he loved his baby, every man loved their car. The man seemed to search something from the way his expression changed.

"You've seen a lot of violence", the man frowned and tightened his hold.

"There's fire and a woman".

Dean knew where this was going but only stared at the man, unable to move. The man shook like he was having seizure before dropping his hand and breathing raggedly.  


"Your father-".

That was when Dean stormed out and almost knocked few people over who were waiting for their turn. He apologized hastily and stumbled into Sam who still looked amazed.

"He was spot on! He knew I had a big brother, that I'm a studying law and that I have a girlfriend who's a nurse", he's expression turned love struck towards the end which went unnoticed by Dean.

Dean wasn't nearly as thrilled as his brother and just wanted to go home and forget that this day had even happened. He forced a smile onto his face but soon realised it was a mistake. Of course he should have fucking known that Sam would be able to read him like an open book.

"What's wrong?" he asked, a little too loudly for Dean's liking. There was a couple who looked at them curiously and Dean didn't want the whole town to know that he was freaking out.

"Not here", he hissed and was again being dragged around and to a food stand. Food calmed him down, so what? And after gobbling his fries and downing a beer in one go he told what had happened in the tent. 

"See! He's the real deal!" Sam cheered but after Dean's glare his expression changed to serious.

"Look, he's not going to tell anyone about it", Sam comforted him but that wasn't what was bothering him. 

"That's not it, is it?" Sam, that son of a bitch, asked, caughting up what the problem here was. "For fuck's sake, Dean" he then exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air in frustration, "you can't keep blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault!"

They both fell silent, and Dean was the first to look away.

"It's not that easy, you know".

Sam's eyes softened and he laid his hand on his shoulder.

"I know. But I won't ever think that it was your fault in any way".

But now there was one more person who thought that everything was his fault.


	2. Chapter 2

Castiel had slept badly. Fire, breaking bones and death seemed to plague his mind even there where he usually got salvation. The man, the police officer, had been normal looking guy with ripped jeans and spiked hair, and he hadn't thought anything weird of him. Until he had touched his hand and these-these deaths started to play before his eyes. It had been overwhelming and he had had to take a break despite the long line to his tent.

Gabriel muttered something in his sleep and rolled almost on top of him. There was drool on his chin and some of the clown make up had rubbed on to the pillow. His brother chuckled in his sleep before snoring loudly again. Castiel stifled his laugh and got up from the bed carefully so he wouldn't jostle the bed and wake Gabriel.

He changed and put on his gloves. They were worn leather, cheap things that fell apart during the first year, but had shaped to be very comfortable. Gabriel had gotten them for him for Christmas some years ago and only because of that he had been dutifully repairing them almost once a month.

"Hey, Cassie!" Balthazar greeted him and leaned for an one-armed hug. "How the night went? Any trouble?" he asked as they continued to the tables to have breakfast. June made the best food Castiel had ever had, and the meals were always a feat for him and his brother because when they had lived at home their mother had always bought everything ready-made. 

"Not really. Some lady began to cry when I read her husband and found out he was cheating on her, then accused me for it", Castiel responded. It had been awkward- "please earth, swallow me right now" kind of awkward. Some people didn't like Castiel's ability to read them and insulted him. Few were aggressive too, and he had been beaten. Nowadays there was always someone keeping an eye out for him so he wouldn't be hurt too badly.

"Good, good. The boss was worried because this is religious area". It was sweet how Mr. Cleese worried over him but he was certain it was because he still saw him as a little kid.

"I'm sure everything will go just fine. I just have to be careful", Castiel assured and sat down with others who had woken up early. The table was full of food already, and Castiel started to pile it onto his plate. He liked to eat healthy and too greasy food made his stomach uneasy. His brother though was a walking sugar and grease ball. Gabriel was bound to have some health problems these days and Castiel was fretting over that. 

After finishing their breakfast Castiel and Balthazar began to clean the carnival area for a new night. Castiel liked their moving lifestyle and car rides were actually quite nice with some music and good books. He usually wasn't allowed to drive after one unlucky incident that he rather forgot all about. He didn't mind it but the constant jabbing annoyed him, though.

They helped where they could and when they felt like they had done their share they decided to look around the city. They did sightseeing from time to time but often they were in a hurry and their busy schedule wouldn't allow them much time to stroll around the cities they visited.

Gabriel joined them and of course the first thing they had to do was to find a cafe so he could buy a big donut. June made special treats for them pretty much only when it was someone's birthday. But Gabriel had some kind of deal with the people in candystands, and they had a mountain of sweets in the trunk of their car. Castiel had entertained the idea of throwing it all away but Gabriel might have a heart attack from the shock alone.

The cafe they chose was small and had three tables next to the windows. It smelled heavenly in there, and Halloween decorations were already up. A perky young woman was behind the counter and smiled warmly at them as they entered. She had her red hair on a ponytail and her black apron had a spot of flour on it. Her name tag read Charlie.

"Hello! What would you like to have?" she asked and Balthazar leaned over the counter, obviously trying to flirt his way into her pants.

"Lesbian!" Charlie announced and made Balthazar jump. Not a single customer patted their eyes at the exclamation.

"Jesus, woman, why don't you yell a little louder and make my eyes bleed too", Balthazar said good-naturedly and rubbed his ear.

"Excuse my friend. He has fallen on his head too many times", Castiel apologized but Charlie just waved him off and assured that it was okay- she was just tired of people hitting on her at work. 

"Are you here to see the carnival?" she then asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Honey, we are the carnival", Gabriel told her smugly. Castiel didn't think that being a part of carnival was so glamorous but everyone can have their opinion. He was just glad that his brother wasn't bitter.

"Wow, really?" she smiled at them so widely that Castiel was sure her cheeks were hurting.

"Sooo, any hot acrobat girls coming this way?" she asked and straightened her shirt.

"Sorry, they are propably still sleeping", Castiel told her. Castiel knew that most of the carnival people were night owls and would gladly sleep until the next night if they were given a chance.

"Oh bummer", she sighed and took turns looking at them from head to toes.

"So, what do you guys do?" she asked eventually and raised her brow.

"Balthazar's an acrobat, I'm a clown and Castiel is a fortuneteller".

"You know very well I'm not a fortuneteller, I can't foretell the future", Castiel grumbled.

"Well jeez, psychic then, mister 'use-correct-terms-you-asshole'", Gabriel muttered, rolling his eyes. Charlie seemed excited and almost pounced on her feet.

"Can you do me?" she asked and thrust her hand towards Castiel. Both Balthazar and Gabriel snickered at them but Castiel ignored them. They were just big children anyway.

"My order is on you and it's a deal", he bargained and Charlie agreed. Luckily for Charlie it was a slow day and she could sit at their table while she was being read. Castiel didn't like big audiences, and liked the illusion of privacy his tent offered him. 

He took off his gloves, took her hand gently into his and closed his eyes. 

"Computers, you like them very much. You're also handy with them", Castiel started. People's interests or the their current thoughts were usually what he picked up on first. He didn't know why but he had theories.

"Your last date wasn't a success", he informed her amused. He could see glimpses of the date because Charlie was still pissed. "Your, uh brother? A close male friend? Set you up for revenge", he chuckled but he could sense her tensing up and becoming more pissed. He dived deeper into Charlie's mind.

"You're missing someone. A close relative. Mother? No, both father and mother", Castiel told her, and her hand tensed. 

"A man in a suit-". That was when Charlie ripped her hand away and looked at him shock evident on her face.

"You really are a psychic", she whispered before she hurried away from him.

"How rude", Balthazar said nonchalantly. They were pretty much used to it but Castiel still felt a little sting of hurt in his chest. People always wanted to hear him tell something about them but as soon as he said something deep, really personal that couldn't be counted as a guess, they ran almost screaming to the other direction.


	3. Chapter 3

  
Dean was just about to pour his fourth cup of coffee that morning when the call came in.

  
"Another body, Dean. They found the Jenkins boy", Benny informed him and Dean almost broke the pan in his hurry to put it down and run after Benny.

  
"Who found him?" Dean asked as he sat down to the passenger seat.

  
"A bypasser like last time", Benny told him and curved out from the parking lot. "He was walking his dog when they found him".

  
"They always are", Dean muttered and shook his head. It had been the same last time: a bypasser walking their dog when the dog caught a smell and stumbled upon a body. If not for the dogs, the bodies wouldn't have been found so quickly: they were hidden with old newspapers and cardboard boxes.

  
There were already people on the scene, taking pictures of the dead boy. Officers kept them in line and from messing the evidence that the technicians were collecting. Dean and Benny began to collect the statement from the witness. He hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary: only a biker passed him, coming from the Gilliard Street a mile away. It was generally too early for anyone to be up and about.

  
"I work late and the mornings are the only time I can take Missy to a longer walk", the witness explained. Dean remembered the early mornings too when Sam had taken care of Jess' dog while she had traveled to France with her sisters a couple of years ago. He was never going to adopt a dog of his own.

  
When they took a look at the body it was pale from death and the black and blue bruises stuck out. His hands were both mutilated by breaking bones and lashing them with a knife. They had gathered that something had been dropped onto them to break them but they didn't know with what or why. The other boys had had these same kind of injuries when they were found but the first one had had fewer lashes. This boy seemed to have been strangled too based on the bruises on his neck which were almost identical to the ones the previous victims had when found.

  
"He died three to eight hours ago", the pathologist started when he and the forensics had finished examining the body and collecting physical evidence, "He's still a bit warm but stiff, so I'd say five hours, give or take". He promised to give them a call as soon as he has finished the autopsy.

  
"I think we should keep cross-referencing their information", Dean suggested even though they had already been doing that without really finding anything useful: they didn't live in the same area, go to same school or go to the same after-school activities. They even shopped in different places. Even though it seemed impossible to differentiate these boys from every other teenager, he and Benny knew that there must have been some underlying pattern- something that they were too blind to see, and they desperately tried to find anything to connect these boys.

"Do you think we should question the parents again too?" Benny asked. Dean shook his head.

  
"If we find something new then yes but otherwise no. They're just about to hear that their son has been found dead", he explained. Dean was reluctant to bother them again with the same questions as last time- they wouldn't get any further with this if they didn't find something new or someone to suspect.

  
"Let's go back to the station to gather our thoughts", Benny concluded and they drove back. They updated their timeline with Kyle's death and marked the place where his body was found onto their map. The places were quite close to one another, always on an alley, few miles apart. They knew it was the killer's comfort area and knew that he either lived near that area or visited it frequently.

  
They barricaded themselves into their office so no one would bother them needlessly. Body every two weeks was high- too high- and their captain didn't want to get the FBI involved. He put his believe in them and his other employees almost too trustingly. It stressed Dean to know about the responsibility that was put on his shoulders, and in the mean time he was glad that the FBI wouldn't come and possibly scare the killer- he would just continue killing in a different place.

  
They looked for similarities between the boys until they were practically cross-eyed, and still didn't get any wiser. The similarities were too vague: they were athletic, one more than the other two but still, liked music just like every other teen in the town (seriously, music was the town's thing and was heavily supported because many of the members of town's council had a burning passion for music. Even the police had their own band), and were all social and had many friends. They were basically like every other teenager in town, and there shouldn't be anything in them to make them stand out from all the other possible victims. There wasn't even any resemblance between them.

  
The first victim was a senior from the public high school, Brian Connelly, who hadn't come home from football practice after school. They had questioned the coach but he had sworn that Brian had left among the other boys, and there hadn't been any cars in the parking lot when he left. Brian's car hadn't still been found which supported his testimony.

  
Next one questioned was Brian's father, and it had been clear from the moment Dean stepped in to the house that Mr. Connelly was an abusive bastard. He wanted so badly to accuse Mr. Connelly of kidnapping his own son, or even murder, when three days later they found Brian's body. They had gathered evidence against him but when the second victim disappeared they had had to admit that while Mr. Connelly was a criminal, he wasn't behind his son's death.

  
The second victim, Dennis Smith, went missing six days later after they had found Brian's body. He had been walking home from his friend's house but never got home. Then had began the race against time to find the boy but they had lost. They had kept Mr. Connelly under arrest those three days and searched his house and every property he owned. Nothing was found, not even any evidence to indicate that he was involved in the case other than being Brian's father. They were back to square one because Mr. Connelly had been their number one suspect- more like their only suspect- because he had a roomy van and was known to do odd jobs around the town and could have easily been connected to the Smith family through that.

  
Dennis had had the same injuries as Brian, and died of suffocation just like Brian. They both had had undigested food in their stomachs' so they had been fed during their imprisonment, and they had been pretty clean, other than the dirt that had come from where they had been dumped. They had been washed after their deaths, no doubt to get rid of as much evidence as possible.

  
And now Kyle Jenkins, their third victim, found after three days of being missing. Dean had hated the feeling of helplessness from not being able to do anything to save the boy. Kyle had went missing on his way to the library and, you guessed it, never reached his destination.

  
They had then moved on to the parents but they didn't have any resemblances to one another. Brian's home was broken with an abusive father and depressed mother while Kyle's parents were happily married and absolutely crushed over the loss of their only son. It varied from one end to the other and they couldn't find any connections between them. Dean doubted they had ever even met each other.

  
"I think we should take a step back and rest for a while", Benny suggested. Dean wanted to argue but he knew his partner was right- it was no use for them to exhaust themselves when they had no glue what they should do next.

  
They headed for Burger King to stuff some burgers into their mouths, Benny looking a little disgusted by Dean's inability to chew his mouth closed, before heading to Charlie's cafe to have much needed caffeine. Benny was going to go home to his Andrea but Dean had no one waiting for him at home so he planned on staying at the station to do research.

  
When they reached Charlie's cafe Dean knew he was in trouble- Charlie looked absolutely furious and glared at him through the windows as they walked to the door.

  
"Shit", he mumbled to Benny.

  
"You deserve it, brother", Benny told him cruelly and opened the door. It was no good to turn around and run anyway.

  
"Dean Winchester", Charlie said menacingly and looked at him from under her brows. Dean walked to the counter like a puppy that knew he was going to be scolded.

  
"I'm sorry", he told her but she was having none of that.

  
"You knew! You fucking knew she was a psycho!" she shouted at him and poked him on his chest. Dean tried to look as apologetic as possible even though he knew that it didn't work on her. Benny snorted next to them and took his coffee cup to their regular table to the corner.

  
"I'm sorry! I did it for revenge but I didn't know she would be that much of a weirdo!" he defended himself. He was pathetic, really.

  
"You set me up with a girl who started a fucking fight with the waitress who smiled at me because she was jealous! Do you have any idea how humiliating it was to be thrown out with her?", she ranted and Dean felt his shoulders slump by each word. But she had ruined his pies! His three pies he had spend hours making so he could eat and watch Dr. Sexy! She had almost been begging blood from her nose.

  
They squabbled for a while before Charlie accepted his apology and decided to brighten up their day by joining them. She carefully led the conversation towards their latest case. As if Dean wouldn't notice. It was confidential, he knew that but for some reason he just couldn't not tell Charlie when she asked. Besides, she some times had pretty good ideas. So they told her about their current case, and from the concerned look she cast on him he knew she was worried that he was over stressing himself.

  
"What about a fortuneteller? Or a _psychic_?" Charlie asked after a long while of thinking. Benny had eaten his sandwich and Dean had eaten the two pieces of pie Johanna was kind enough to serve him. Dean gaped at her.

  
"Charlie! This is serious murder investigation!", he hissed at her after his initial shock had faded. Benny though looked thoughtful and to Dean's horror nodded his head.

  
"I met the one who came here with the carnival", Charlie started and Dean knew who she was talking about. Shivers ran up his back from the memory.

  
"His ability is real, I'm sure of it", she stated and Benny was on board with her idea.

  
"Psychics have been a help in police matters", he reasoned but Dean was quick to shoot the idea down, "But they have also fucked up investigations by leading the detectives off rail".

  
But Benny was like he hadn't heard anything and started to discuss in detail what made her believe the man and where could he find him.

  
Dean knew he was fucked.


	4. Chapter 4

  
The carnival was set to go and the first ones were already leaving. Castiel, Gabriel and Balthazar were among the last ones, still sitting there and enjoying the warm breeze and fresh air before they had to sit in their cars for hours.

  
"I think we should start going", Castiel told the others and they climbed into their cars. Balthazar got into the already tightly packed car of other acrobats, and Castiel and Gabriel got into theirs. They were the only ones to have their own car and Gabriel cherished it because it was something that was fully theirs and wasn't shared with the others like everything else.

  
Gabriel drove behind the Land Rover that Henry drove, until blue and red lights flashed behind them and made them stop. Henry stopped too and everyone stepped outside. Two blond haired men stepped out and the bulkier asked for Castiel the fortuneteller. Gabriel glanced at Castiel warily and asked what they were asking him for.

  
"He's a witness in murder investigation", the one who had spiky hair said and Castiel panicked. Had he witnessed a murder? He replayed everything he had done while being here but couldn't remember anything that could have been classified as murder. He had seen a man hitting his girlfriend the other night, but the security had handled that, and the girl's brother had taken her home and away from her abuser.

  
"I think you have the wrong guy, detectives...?", Balthazar piped in and got an annoyed look from Spiky.

  
"Detectives Winchester and Lafitte. We can arrest him for stalling the murder investigation if that makes you feel better", Spiky, detective Winchester, told them and Castiel stepped in front of them.

  
"Fine, ask your questions but I doubt I can tell you anything useful", he told them seriously and waited for them to be done with the interrogation.

  
"We have to go to the station for that", Bulky said and Castiel sighed, turning towards the others. Gabriel looked torn and chewed his lip, hand resting on the car.

  
"I'll- I'll leave the car with you", he told Castiel, "I think Henry has room for one more". Castiel smiled and thanked his brother.

  
"The GPS is ready so you can catch up with us when you're done", he explained and hugged Castiel before they piled into Henry's car and drove off to follow after the others who had quite the head start now.

  
"I'll follow", Castiel told the officers who nodded and got into their car. They led him to the station where he was guided into an interrogation room and explained what they wanted him to do. He was given a gray sweatshirt and told to tell the detectives what he saw.

  
He touched the shirt hesitantly with his gloves on.

  
"Please, tell me a dead boy didn't wear this", he begged and saw that the detectives were kind of feeling bad for him. Good, because it really wasn't a walk in the park for him.

  
"Just tell us what you see", detective Winchester told him sternly. Castiel glared both him and detective Lafitte but took off his leather gloves and gathered the fabric into his long fingers, closing his eyes. The underlying feeling of death unsettled him but he tried his best to sort through all the memories.

  
"It's bright and warm", he informed them, "there's music but I don't recognize the song".

  
He heard a piano playing but didn't recognize the song. He had never been big on music, preferring the silence. There was pain in his hands and he told that to the detectives while trying to flex his fingers to reassure himself that they were still fine even when he felt the phantom pain. There was a dull ache in the back of his head too but that could be a headache of his own. He tried to see more of the scene but the pain only increased in his head.

  
"A man", he frowned as he saw the figure sit next to the boy. "He's scared of him", Castiel told them and tensed up. The man hurt the boy and more pain flared up his hands, making him drop the shirt.

  
"What does he look like?" detective Lafitte prompted but Castiel just breathed as if he had been running.

  
"I don't know what he looked like, it was hazy but I got the feeling that he knew the man and trusted him. His teacher, the man was a teacher", Castiel told them.

  
"That's all you got?" detective Winchester shouted and slammed his hands onto the table, and Castiel would have flinched if he hadn't been so used to people being angry or frustrated after their readings.

  
"Well, I told you, I would see more clearly if I touched him but I'm not in any circumstances touching a body!" Castiel shouted back.

  
"Dean, calm down", Benny consoled his partner. "He told us plenty enough- now we know that they were kept in a house by a teacher. We just have to find a guy they all knew".

  
Dean gaped at Benny and stormed to the door. "I don't believe a thing he says! He's just a liar who lies! He's playing with lives!"

  
And with that he was out the door, leaving Castiel and Benny in to an awkward silence, Castiel more confused than anything else. Like he was to be blamed here! He would be out of town and on his way to next city if he hadn't been forced to come here.

  
"Can you try again?" Benny pleaded and Castiel sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The idea of turning the detective down and leaving was very tempting but he felt bad for the boy. If he could give glues then that's what he was going to do to prevent more boys from being killed.

  
He picked up the sweatshirt again and closed his eyes. He searched something new, something relevant from the haze of memories.

  
"He's angry. He tells him to play better, to get all the notes right", he tells Benny.

  
" _From the top_ ", the man said over and over, and the boy began the song again each time. He dropped the shirt as the man crushed the boys hands with the piano lid.

  
"He- he crushed his hands with the key lid", he told the detective, horrified by the violent act. It made the hairs on his neck stand and wrenched his stomach.

  
"Anything else? I take everything you can give me", Benny asked. Castiel looked at Benny and thought back to the times he had interacted with the police- none of the officers he had met had been this desperate, pleading for glues.

  
Castiel shook his head. There was nothing else he could tell the detective that would be helpful.

  
Benny sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

  
"Stay in town so we can contact you when we find something new. Maybe you could read our suspects and determine if they are our killer or not", he mused the last part more to himself than to Castiel. Castiel shuddered at the thought of going through that; to feel the murderer enjoy his kill and see the light fade out of his victims' eyes, not able to stop it.

  
Instead of voicing his fear he nodded and gave Benny his phone number where he could reach him from before leaving the station, sighing in relief that it was over.

\-----------

  
It was uncomfortable to say the least to sleep in the car. For years he had had a mattress to sleep on and gotten used to the softness of the sheets and the warmth of the cover. But it was still better than sleeping in a cardboard box. He couldn't afford to stay in a motel so the car was the best option he had. After spending the day walking around town and looking everything worth seeing he had circled around one particular area to find a place to park his car at where he could be in peace and no one would mistake him for some creeper. Maybe he had been already mistaken to be a creeper when he had circled around, who knew.

  
He sighed and turned around. It was so lonely without his brother and he wished he had never come to this town. Dean was right, he wasn't any use to the police because his ability was too vague. He couldn't nab onto a memory and suck everything from it. It was a mess of flashes of memories and feelings that he had to swim through. Some memories and feelings were more prominent than others and easier to read. To expect him to find a murderer was too much. Of course he wanted the killer to be found but the police was very able to find him without his help.

  
He couldn't sleep. He couldn't stay in the car. He couldn't even call Gabriel. He had of course called his brother the minute he had walked out of the station doors to tell him what had happened ( _"What the fuck, Cassie, they can't do that!"_ ) but to sleep alone in a strange city when he had never been alone was terrifying.

  
He righted the seat and decided to take a walk.

 


	5. Chapter 5

  
After meeting with Castiel, Benny was convinced that the killer was a music teacher. The problem was that music was a popular hobby and the killer might not even be a certified teacher but a parent, or any other person, who taught a couple lessons at their home to earn some extra. Dean was still hesitant to rely completely on a clairvoyant in a murder case even though Castiel was somewhat reliable. After getting over his anger he had admitted that to himself, he just hadn't liked that a person could read him like an open book just by touching him. And well, if he appeared aggressive maybe Castiel would be too scared to throw accusations at him from his own reading.

  
Because Castiel looked so ordinary and not some kind of fairy or elf it was hard to believe that he possessed that kind of power. It had shocked and angered him that Castiel had dived into his head and invaded his privacy but afterwards he had just felt ashamed of his reaction. He was a professional, dammit, he should've been able to keep his poker face.

  
They started by looking into what instruments the victims had played. Kyle had played piano as had Brian but Dennis had played guitar. So why had he been taken too? It ruined the pattern. But it would make sense that a music teacher played both piano and guitar. That narrowed their list down and after they took the women off it was almost manageable now. They took parents off the list too because they thought that if someone was tortured in a suburban area the neighbors would have called the cops to check the situation. Benny deemed it enough for that day and left, warning Dean not to stay up all night. As if he could sleep.

  
Captain Turner threw him out of the station at one o'clock, grumbling something along the line of _Ellen would kill you if she knew what you're doing to yourself again_. And Dean suspected that he had some sort of telepathic connection with Bobby because his uncle called him, telling him to eat well and go to sleep already.

  
So he headed to grab a little snack and breakfast before going home from the little 24/7 store two-three miles from the station. His fridge had been empty for God knows how long and the other day he had found molded bread from the cabinet. It was painfully obvious that he didn't have enough time so he could at least cook meals there.

  
The store was quiet, only three customers were in: a guy on his phone at the candy shelf looking through them half-asleep and two young women buying frozen pizzas. Dean opted for the same choice and picked up a box of pepperoni pizza, beer to wash it down with and a packet of coffee for the morning. He paid for them and glanced at the poor guy at the candy shelf pityingly before walking out and to his car. He threw the bag to the backseat and when he closed the back door he saw a familiar looking guy across the street, standing and leaning on to the dumpster there.

  
He hesitated for a moment and tried to decide if he should go over and talk or something. He still wasn't sure what kind of person Castiel really was, and would he throw the 'murderer' -card right at his face.

  
But Castiel looked pretty pathetic there, all on his own. So different from the mysterious guy in the tent with all the accessories. And Dean had been kind of a dick to him when they themselves had dragged him to the station. And Benny had told him to stay in the city for if they needed him later.

  
He was already walking over to the guy when his mind caught up to his legs but it was too late to turn around now- Castiel had seen him and had a polite smile on his face.  
"Hello, detective", he greeted him. His teeth clattered a bit and his cheeks were reddened from the cold. He wondered how long, and more importantly why, Castiel had been outside.

  
"Hiya, Castiel", Dean greeted back and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, "I'm sorry for blowing up on you today", he apologized and Castiel nodded.

  
"I'm used to it. You're forgiven". It didn't lift Dean's guilt that had been dwelling in his stomach from the moment he had calmed down after storming out. Usually he wasn't that much of an asshole but something in this case riled him up and made his temper short.

  
He kicked a little rock with his shoe and Castiel shuffled awkwardly.

  
"I guess you're staying at the Halfway motel? What's it been like in there?" he asked. Halfway was the cheapest motel (and pretty much the only one) so it was easy to guess that Castiel was going to stay there. But maybe he was staying at the Golden suite but Dean doubted that the man was that rich.

  
Castiel fidgeted and kept his eyes on the ground, not looking up at Dean.

  
"I- uh, I sleep in my car", he admitted sheepishly and finally looked up under his lashes. Dean didn't like the idea of Castiel, or anyone, sleeping in a car. His apartment was small but it was better to sleep on a coach than in a car. Every time Sam visited, he was able to fold himself onto the little couch so why wouldn't Castiel be able too? He had been looking bigger apartments lately but there really hadn't been a reason to when he barely spend any time in his current place.

  
"You could stay at my apartment?" he kind of asked and Castiel smiled.

  
"I wouldn't be too much of a bother?" he made sure but Dean assured him that he wouldn't be asking if it wouldn't be okay for him.

  
"Thank you", Castiel said, and Dean told him to follow his car to his home. It should have felt weird, or even creepy, to let a guy he had met only two times, and stormed out on both times, stay at his apartment but it didn't. Castiel wasn't giving any creeper signals and he doubted he would try to kill him while he slept.

  
After they parked their cars and Dean carried Castiel's bag up to the third floor (the elevator had been out of order for a while now and he had complained about it twice already but nothing had happened) Dean popped two beers open and they sat down to the worn leather sofas. They watched the news but the shows starting after weren't any good ( _'Trust me, Castiel, you don't want to waste your time watching those' _) so Dean started to look through his DVDs to show Castiel something worth watching. The guy hadn't watched a whole lot of movies and Dean promised to show the best of the best to him.__

  
Dean popped in a western movie- he loved those- and began to explain that a _poncho wasn't a freaking blanket _and how awesome it would be to travel back in time. Castiel listened to him quietly, a small smile gracing his face. When he had finished his rant he looked at his guest and blushed, rubbing his neck awkwardly.__

  
"Sorry, man. Got a bit out of hand there for a moment", he apologized and Castiel, bless him, just waved him off.

  
"My brother Gabriel is the same way. You remind me a bit of him, actually. I miss him", he added sadly and pain flared in Dean's chest. He knew that feeling too well and forced a smile onto his face.

  
"I hope we solve this case quickly then". Castiel nodded and sipped his beer.

  
"What's it like, working in a carnival?" Dean asked. It was every kid's dream to run off and join a circus after all.

  
"I don't know, it's alright I guess. There's really not another place to be for someone like me", Castiel told him. Dean doubted that but didn't say anything. "It doesn't pay much but we don't need money because the carnival is our home. But we're also a family and very close with each other. It has its pros and cons like everything else in life", he continued shrugging his shoulders. It was like Dean's job: he loved helping people and making the bad guys pay for their crimes but he hated seeing the innocent dead or violated some way or another.

  
"What's the funniest you've ever read from anyone?" he asked. Dean was dying to ask what had he thought when he had been reading him but refrained himself. It might be better if he was a little bit drunk for that. So he listened to Castiel's story before he absolutely had to tell some of his- he couldn't stay quiet for that long. Castiel looked more content listening than talking anyway so Dean took it from there. It was nice that for once he wasn't in a shouting match. Both Sam and Charlie seemed to love their own voices and they pretty much ended up talking at the same time and fighting over whose turn it was to speak. Beer by beer Dean's laughter had gotten louder and Castiel's small smile wider. And without even noticing Dean had been scooting closer to Castiel, now almost flush against his side. It was nice there, warm and safe, and Castiel's eyes were so pretty in the flashing light of the TV. Castiel turned to look at him, his eyes fixated on his. Dean had never taken the time of his day to do this with any of his previous girl- and boyfriends but now he was beginning to think that maybe he should have. Maybe he should have paid been gazing into their eyes like this, drunk off his ass and see how beautiful they were.

  
The movie ended, snapping them out of their little world. Dean noticed that they hadn't seen the ending at all- well, Dean remembered all the lines from heart and it didn't matter that much to him but the entire purpose had been to introduce Castiel to the finesses of western films. Castiel though didn't really mind and suggested that they go to sleep; Dean needed to go to work in the morning and it wouldn't be good for him if he was half-dead in the morning. Dean agreed, somewhat grudgingly, and gave Castiel a blanket, two pillows and sheets to put on to the couch and together they made a bed for him.

  
"I'm sorry I don't have something better for you", he apologized and once again Castiel waved him off, smiling.

  
"It's a thousand times better than my car. Thank you for letting me stay here, even though you don't like me that much". Dean blushed and argued: "I like you, you're cool. We just had a bad start".

  
Castiel was still smiling at him when they said their good nights and Dean went to his own room. What a weird night.

  
He had settled _just right _into his bed and could have fallen asleep in seconds when his phone started to ring. It could only be this one Moose who forgot about time differences.__

  
"Sammy", he answered and sat up. He hoped he didn't talk too loudly and keep Castiel awake, "Did you get home safely?"

  
"Yeah, thanks for the ride", Sam thanked and Dean could hear Jess in the background telling Sam to hurry up.

  
"I'm gonna ask Jess to marry me", Sam whispered to him after a little while, apparently after Jess had left him alone again. "I'm taking her to that Italian she loves and ask her to marry me", he told Dean, barely containing his enthusiasm. Dean grinned so wide he was sure the corners of his mouth touched his ears.

  
"Way to go, you horndog. But why couldn't you tell me this when you were here _yesterday? _"__

  
He could almost the sheepish smile on Sam's face to know that this was spur of the moment thing, and he hadn't even planned it properly.

  
"It just- it feels right, you know? Like this is the day I should do it", Sam explained and Dean rolled his eyes. Normally his brother was the most logical person in the room but when it came to Jess all that went flying out the window.

  
"Then you should do it. Good luck, Sammy. You're lucky to have her", Dean told his brother, a little jealous. He hadn't ever even entertained the idea of asking any of his partners to marry him- none of his relationships had been serious enough for that.

  
"Yeah, I am", Sam agreed and they said their goodbyes, Dean wishing him luck. For some reason, Castiel's blue eyes sprung to his mind just before he fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

  
Castiel woke up to cups clanking against each other and the coffeemaker starting up. He rubbed his eyes and glanced over the back of the sofa and saw Dean standing in the little kitchen, his hair all mussed and a red mark on his cheek from pressing his hand on it in his sleep. When he stepped into his view fully and wasn't behind the island anymore he could see that the man was only in his boxers. Dean's happy trail was a darker shade of blond than his hair and his abs were almost lickable, as Gabriel would say.  


He had to chastise himself- he shouldn't think that way of Dean. The detective had been kind enough to offer him a place to stay, he shouldn't make him regret his decision by acting disrespectfully. Last night he had been close to screwing everything up but luckily he had been able to refrain himself from kissing Dean. If he had kissed him, he would have ended up hurting them both in the end.

  
"Morning", Dean greeted him when he noticed he was awake too, voice rough from sleep. "Do you drink coffee?"

Castiel nodded, "Yes, please".

  
He stood up and stretched like a cat, sighing contently. It had been a long time ago since he had woken up in a real house and smelled coffee instead of his brother's stinking feet and muddy shoes for the first thing in the morning. It was nice, really nice.

  
He noticed Dean looking at him and blushed. He didn't say anything though, and sat down to the table. Once the coffee was done Dean gave him a mug and poured it almost to the brim after asking if he took any milk.

  
It was comfortable silence they had between them, neither of them wanting to break it. Dean put the radio on to listen to the news. Castiel didn't like to listen to the news; it was always death, violence and discrimination what they talked about. It had become so easy to bury himself into their little commune of bright lights and happiness over the years and just ignore all the bad that was happening in the world.

  
"What are you going to do while I'm at work?" Dean asked. Castiel hadn't really thought about that.

  
"I'll figure something out", he promised. He doubted Dean would let him stay here, or let him sleep for another night.

  
"My friend owns a cafe. If you'd like, you could go help her", Dean suggested, and it didn't sound that bad. Actually, it sounded very nice way to spend his time. He nodded, without even realizing what a big smile he had on his face.

  
Sleeping on a sofa and getting a cup of delicious, and expensive, coffee were nothing compared to getting to use the shower. They didn't have showers in the carnival, and they just washed themselves quickly. Usually the water was on the colder side and no one really enjoyed washing themselves. But they were poor and having a warm shower would have been a luxury. It was pure heaven to have the warm water massage his shoulders and just stand under the stream.

  
While he showered Dean had called his friend and settled everything. Castiel was actually pretty excited to be working in a normal job- he had never had and opportunity for it and now that he had he couldn't wait. He was like a preschooler getting excited about going to school, really.

  
"You can go to hers if you want after work. Here's the spare key to my place if you want to be alone. I'm working late", Dean explained and thrusted the key into his hand. Castiel looked at it for a moment and then back at Dean.

  
"How do you know I won't take all your stuff and run?" he asked, puzzled, and tilted his head.

  
Dean scoffed. "You'd be pretty stupid if you decided to rob a cop. And besides, I think you would have already left if you were going to steal anything", he explained and gestured for him to follow.

  
Dean drove him to the little cafe they had visited with Gabriel and Balthazar two days ago, and he recognized the red head as the Charlie Dean's been talking about. How hadn't he connected the dots earlier? There probably weren't that many Charlies who owned cafes in this town.

  
"Here's my number in case you need it", Dean said just before Castiel stepped out of the car, and gave him a slip of paper. Castiel thanked him, promised to call and put the paper into his pocket. He would later put it into his phone. He waved Dean off and entered the cafe. He knocked onto the _employees only_ \- door and asked for Charlie who opened the door few seconds later and from then on it was red blur and coffee scents until the first customer came in and Castiel got to practice his coffee making.

  
After they got over the first minutes of awkwardness, and Charlie making Castiel to promise to never talk about 'the man in the suit' to anybody, they clicked. The easy flow of conversation- Charlie talking and Castiel listening with short answers of ' _mm_ ', ' _yes'_ , ' _no'_ and ' _right'_ \- and the friendly customers lifted Castiel's spirit. Only thing keeping him on his toes was that the had to wear a T-shirt with the company logo on, and so needed to be careful to not brush his skin against anyone, especially Charlie who hoovered around him, making sure he did everything right.

  
"How come you aren't with them interrogating the suspects?" she asked once the stream of customers slowed and it was pretty quiet in the shop. Castiel knew she had wanted to ask that for a while now- she was too curious for her own good.

"I don't think that would be legal", he replied, "besides, it would be weird to be touching them while Dean and detective Lafitte asked them questions".

  
Charlie thought for a moment. "But what about shaking hands?"

  
"I don't think that's enough time to look for something specific. I would only get a feeling of the strongest emotion or memory they're feeling". Like with Dean, sadness was a pretty prominent part of him and Castiel had picked up on it quickly.

  
"BUT", Charlie raised her voice and held up her finger so he wouldn't interrupt her, "murdering someone is something that raises strong emotions. Or it should. So they might still be riled up from it", she reasoned. Castiel thought about it and in theory it sounded valid. But he was pretty sure he would only pick up on the feeling the person was feeling right at the moment, like say irritation because someone had interrupted their lunch. And besides, he had never encountered a murderer, which he was thankful for, and he hasn't been that comfortable with his curse that he would have practiced its use or tested what things he could do. There hadn't really been any use for that kind of thing anyway, he has made his living well enough so far.

  
"I still don't think Dean would want me there to mess up their investigation", Castiel reasoned her but a sly grin spread onto her face that Castiel didn't like. Didn't like at all.

 


	7. Chapter 7

  
The three music teachers working in the schools were their main suspects. Well, in Benny's mind two because one of them was a woman but Dean wanted to question her despite it. They had learned from Benny's cousin, who worked as a school cook, that sometimes the teachers substituted classes among themselves and it wasn't necessarily reported anywhere. In the light of the new information it was possible for all the teachers knowing the victims. Benny had suggested that they ask Castiel for help when they interview their suspects.

  
Dean didn't want to bother Castiel anymore- he was already forced to stay in town because of them. And for the love of God they should be able to solve this case themselves! Besides, Castiel's testimony wouldn't be enough, they needed evidence and motive to arrest a suspect.

  
After getting themselves coffee and little snacks from the coffee room they checked every suspect's background information.

  
Mr. Gallagher, a teacher in the town's private school, had been arrested for assault six years ago. The charges had been dropped and Mr. Gallagher had walked free. The man assaulted had had a concussion and a broken arm, and later on claimed that he didn't remember who had attacked him in the bar. To Dean it was weird that the people who had seen the fight in the bar had changed their testimonies; they claimed that they had the men mixed and that the assaulter had looked like Mr. Gallagher. From the notes they noticed that the investigators had suspected bribery. The people in the bar who witnessed the fight had been bought silent, and Mr. Gallagher wasn't a poor man. There weren't other reports but it didn't mean Mr. Gallagher hadn't beaten anyone else- he just hadn't been caught.

  
Ms. Morrell was clean all around, and hadn't even reported a crime. It was odd to have someone so innocent in their investigation.

  
Mr. Kingston's report looked sadder. His father had been an alcoholic and they eventually had lost their house. Maybe it was because of this that he volunteered in charity work and helped raise money for kids and families in need.

  
"Maybe his dad also abused him and he went crazy", Benny suggested.

  
"Just because his dad drank doesn't mean he abused him", Dean told him.

  
"Abuse always leaves their mark on people. Maybe something happened, broke the dam and now he's killing people", Benny continued, ignoring Dean completely.

  
"Then why these boys? Why not anyone available? What, in Kingston's mind, would connect these boys and make them his targets?" Dean asked and scribbled the questions down.

"You could ask the same for Mr. Gallagher", Benny said, "Why would he take these boys? What would his motive be?"

"Revenge", Dean stated. It could be that these boys had harassed him somehow or done something to his daughter and he decided to show them who was in charge here. On Halloweens especially his house was a popular target for egging so it wouldn't surprise Dean if a group of boys had gone a bit too far with a prank.

  
They drank the last of their coffee cups before leaving to question their suspects. They hopped into their car and headed to the private school first.

  
"So, guess who I found last night from the streets?" Dean asked. They pretty much talked about their personal stuff only during lunch or during drives. And of course when they visited each other on their free time, but it was far and between.

  
"Mona? When does that girl learn", Benny guessed sighing and shook his head.

  
"Castiel. He was going to sleep in his car", Dean revealed.

  
"Poor guy. Did ya offer your couch?"

  
"Yeah. I couldn't just leave him there", Dean reasoned but Benny kind of smirked at him.

  
"Doesn't hurt your eyes either to see him naked, huh?"

  
"He was not naked!" Dean denied even though he had totally seen a glimpse of Castiel's delicious, naked body that morning after he had come from the shower. And yeah, maybe there had been some checking out from both of them.

  
"Uhuh, whatever you say, brother. You'll be all over each other in no time".

  
Dean sighed. He shouldn't have said anything.

  
Mr. Gallagher was an old man who reminded Dean of a walrus with his baggy cheeks, small eyes and big mouth. He looked them down his nose and answered their questions with such arrogance and self-importance that Dean wanted to punch him. He knew that Mr. Gallagher was a very respected man in town (among adults) and even the mayor was one of his close friends. He lived on the richer side of  the town with his wive and three girls. The Gallagher house was a two-story mansion with a cellar and Dean really wanted to get a warrant to search the basement. And the cherry on the top? Mr. Gallagher owned land on the outskirts of town and could easily take someone there. Maybe he took them into his basement first to tie them up good and then transported them to some little cabin deep in the woods to torture them.

  
They started the questioning by asking where he was and if there are any witnesses on the day Brian went missing.

  
"I was at home, having dinner with my wife and daughters", he told them like it was ridiculous that he was even a suspect.

  
"They can all testify for me, and if that's not enough my car is available for search", he added. They took him up for his offer and took a look at his BMW.

  
The sleek black car wouldn't be easy to spot and sat well into the streets.

  
"Do you have any other cars you use?" Benny asked after they had had a look on the inside.

  
"My wive's car is under my name and I have a key for it. It's the same model as this one but red. My oldest daughter drives a car too but she bought it with her own money and takes care of it by herself. It's a mini, that one there", he pointed at a car in the student parking. Dean took a look at it but doubted that Mr. Gallagher would use his daughter's car to transport a body.

  
"Did you know any of these boys? Other than Kyle Jenkins who was your student", Dean asked and showed him pictures of the victims.

  
"I might've met them while substituting. I don't really pay attention to people who don't matter", he explained. It was harsh, to say that someone didn't matter but Dean couldn't say that he remembered the names of everyone who he's met in his life.

  
"Well, could you tell something more about Kyle?"

  
"He wasn't anything special. He was going through the defiant years of his life. He talked back and acted up. I think it was a friend-thing. Young boys need to show off a little", Mr. Gallagher told them. It was worrying how little he cared.

"Did any of these boys pull pranks on you? Show disrespect?" Dean asked. Mr. Kingston took another look at the pictures and pointed at Dennis.

"He and his friends keyed my car last summer. I saw them at it but didn't call the police because I knew their parents and decided to call straight to them. They paid me every penny back but I think I was too merciful. They need to see what consequences would follow if they didn't get a grip of themselves". 

  
They asked some further questions, like where he had been on the day Brian's body was discovered, until Mr. Gallagher excused himself and claimed to be too busy at the moment to answer them and that they were welcome to question him later that evening. In the car Dean gritted his teeth and gripped the wheel knuckles white, irritated with the pompous bastard.

  
The second was Ms. Morrell. She was forgetful and stubborn at times but people liked her, students especially. She wore bright colors and encouraged students to try different instruments as well as genres.

"Oh, Dennis was such a wonderful boy!", she exclaimed when Dean asked about her former student. "He wasn't the sharpest pen in the pencil case but he had so much energy! Such a comedian too", she continued with a fond smile. Dean asked her where she had been on the night when Brian Connelly went missing.

  
"I was teaching a class at the adult education center", she answered.

  
"After that- um- let me check my calendar", and before either of the detectives had even opened their mouths she had whisked away and speed-walked out of the class room they were sitting in. It took five minutes before she came back, frowning at the green notebook she had in her hands.

  
"Hmm, it says here that I was with my boyfriend having dinner in the Indian restaurant", she informed them and told the name of the place. She was nice and reminded Dean of his guitar teacher in high school. He too had been forgetful and little slovenly.

  
"And what kind of car do you drive?" Benny asked. Of course they had seen this information when they had done background checking but they wanted to see if the suspects would lie.

  
"Oh, I don't drive! I have a bike, like my boyfriend. Neither of us have any driver's license", she explained. She and her boyfriend apparently were one of those people who supported animal rights, ate only vegan foods and made sure everything they bought were organic. Sam had been a vegan for a month to support something Dean didn't remember anymore. If Dean were to try turning vegan it would be the most painful hour of his life.

  
"Besides, we live right around the corner in the new apartment building, and the grocery store is right next to it too. If we need to go further from home we go by bus", she added, continuing to tell them how much pollution planes produced. Dean cut her short politely, telling her that they needed to continue their way and that they would contact her if there would rise any new questions.

  
The third teacher was Mr. Kingston. He was a young man, very enthusiastic teacher- the kind that really made you want to learn. But he could be demanding too; he pushed the students to their limits and thrived them to try their best. Would he be capable of murder? When sitting there and looking at his still soft skin from youth and cute little dimples that appeared when he flashed a smile Dean couldn't see this man strangling someone. He seemed to have a good grasp on reality, and didn't seem crazy, at least not to Dean.

  
"I was with my friends. We have been planning a charity event- it's going to be in December, maybe fourth or fifth- and we need to begin the planning early so we have everything ready for then", Mr. Kingston explained and gave a number of one of the people that he was working with for an alibi.

  
"Evan is my best friend. We met during college, and we bonded over having difficult parents", Kingston revealed. It dawned to Dean that Evan too had had an alcoholic parent. It was good that they both had someone to talk to who understood their problems. At least it had helped Dean when he had met Frank, a good friend of his, when working for Bobby in his garage. It hadn't been embarrassing to lighten his heart to someone who didn't say 'Oh, that must've been awful, I'm sorry'.

  
"He volunteers at the ArtSaves on his day-offs so you should find him there today", he informed them and Dean took down the address.

  
"And what about the morning when his body was found?"

  
Mr. Kingston looked worried.

  
"I was- I was alone, I think. Sleeping. But you can ask my neighbors! They'd hear if I left my apartment in the middle of the night. They're always complaining how I should fix my door which makes the most hideous sounds", he explained them, a pleading look on his face, desperate to proof his innocence.

  
"Brian was your student, right?" Dean asked and Kingston's face fell even further. He nodded solemnly and fiddled his hands together nervously.

  
"He was. He was a great guy. Really passionate about music. He wrote some songs too", he told them proudly. "I still have them. Right before he went missing he gave them to me, he was so excited and wanted to play them in our charity event. I'm planning to play them there, for his honor". Mr. Kingston's eyes reddened like he was about to cry and his chin started to wobble. He took deep breaths and fished the papers from his drawer.

  
Dean took a look at the lyrics; they talked about survival and overcoming difficulties but still had a pretty sad tone in them. To him it was like he was reading something written by a depressed person.

  
"And what kind of car do you drive?" Benny asked to get the man's mind elsewhere.

  
"Peugeot 208", he told them, and Benny asked if they could see it.

  
"Of course! Follow me", he said, wiping his eyes and trying to sound cheerful, and took them to his car. The blue car was clean and again, had no visible traces of a body.

  
"Do you have any other cars?" he asked.

  
"No, this cost me enough", Mr. Kingston chuckled and patted the roof fondly. They asked the man a few more questions before the man had to go teach his next class.

  
"Up for grub?" Dean asked and curved to the closest fast food place in sight. While waiting in the line, Dean wondered how Castiel was doing and if Charlie had taken him home with her. He chuckled at the thought of Charlie showing Castiel all the Harry Potter movies and giving him a PowerPoint presentation why Hermione is the most amazing heroine in the literature history. Well, maybe that was exaggerating but it wasn't an impossibility. He was almost tempted to call them and ask about their day but refrained himself, shooting Sam a text instead, asking how his proposal had gone.

  
Not long after, Sam was calling him and gushing over his very successful proposal.

  
"It was _perfect_  Dean! The food was great in the restaurant, and our waitress was kind enough to film it! I'm going to send it to you when I have time"

  
Dean smiled widely, listening to his brother's excitement. And he couldn't wait to see the video either.

  
"Cool! I have to go to Bobby's then and watch it with him and Ellen since Jo's not there to be their IT-support anymore", Dean chuckled. Jo had left the local police forces to try her wings in the bigger world- in Washington to be exact.

  
"Yeah, thanks Dean! I gotta go now, I just wanted to call you real quick. Call me once you have time so I can tell you all about the night", Sam told him, and Dean promised. 


	8. Chapter 8

  
Castiel _really_ didn't like this. How had she even managed to talk him into this? Looking next to him at Charlie's excited face he regretted his every life choice because they had let him to this situation. They were going to get into trouble. He wouldn't survive in prison! Or worse, they could get killed. Yes, they would die and Gabriel would be left alone. Who would make sure that he wouldn't get diabetes before the age of thirty then?

  
"Come on! Isn't this awesome?" she gushed and Castiel looked at her doubtfully even though she didn't see his face. She was concentrating on the road, overly thrilled of what they were going to do.

  
They curved to the parking lot of the private high school and Charlie went over their cover once more.

  
"So, you're my friend, moving here from Chicago", she explained, "And you want to enroll your little brother to this school. He plays piano and you want to meet the teacher in advance so his musical education doesn't get interrupted".

  
She had thought everything ready, Castiel only had to follow her lead. She had even loaned him one of Dean's suits from his apartment that he didn't use anymore. His own trench coat on top of it made him look like a tax accountant which according to Charlie was a good thing.

  
Together they searched the administrative assistant to ask if Mr. Gallagher was still at school.

  
"He's having a class right now but it ends in fifteen. You go down that corridor, then turn left and find room 205", she instructed them, smiling pleasantly at them both. Her eyes were warm brown and there was something ethereal about her.

  
"Isn't she cute? I wish I was tapping that", Charlie whispered to him once they were far enough from the front desk so she couldn't hear them.

  
"Then go for it", he encouraged her and she seemed to ponder about it. Castiel hoped she would take a chance with her. They argued about if the assistant was lesbian or not while walking and Castiel insisted that more people were bi than you thought- he had experience of it. Not the practical kind though, to his dismay.

  
All the corridors and doors looked the same to Castiel, and there wasn't any art on the white tile walls. It was pretty sad that there wasn't anything to make the place look a little less institutional.

  
Mr. Gallagher's students left shortly after they had found the door the assistant had pointed out for them, and they stepped into the music room. There were all kinds of instruments propped near the walls. Mr. Gallagher was sitting by the piano, gathering the notes from the lesson.

  
"Mr. Gallagher?" Charlie asked after knocking on the door frame. Mr. Gallagher turned to them and gestured for them to step in.

  
"What brings you young couple here?" he asked and stood up.

  
"I'm Charlie", Charlie introduced herself and shook hands with the old man, "And this is my friend Castiel".

  
When it was Castiel's turn to shake hands with Mr. Gallagher he was nervous. Would there be enough time to look for something specific? And more importantly, would he be able to keep himself from reacting too noticeably? This plan had so big wholes that it wouldn't even catch tunas.

  
In the quick flash Castiel saw ropes. Ropes and naked flesh with red nail marks. A sudden pain on his butt cheek like someone had slapped him made him flinch and he dropped Mr. Gallagher's hand. The man frowned at him and Castiel feared that he had ruined everything already.

  
"We're here because Castiel and his brother are moving to town. Castiel's brother, Gabriel, plays piano and Castiel wanted to come see the music teacher in advance", Charlie explained.

  
"It's good that you're taking your brother's studies seriously. Unfortunately not many parents care for their children's education enough", Mr. Gallagher told them, pleased with Castiel. He packed his things as he told them all about the school, of his classes and what kind of teaching methods he used. It wasn't anything relevant to the reason why they were there but they listened politely and nodded when it was appropriate.

  
"Could you play something for us?" Charlie asked as sweetly as she could, and Mr. Gallagher sat down almost smugly. He played something fast, his fingers gliding over the notes so fast Castiel was amazed they didn't trip over each other.

  
"Could you start over? From the top?" Charlie asked. Mr. Gallagher looked a bit irritated but complied, muttering, " From the top", to himself. Castiel tried to compare it to the voice he heard when reading the shirt but whispering always sounded different than yelling. He shook his head at Charlie and disappointedly, she thanked Mr. Gallagher for his time.

  
"I'd like to meet your brother before he starts in the school. To discuss what kind of ambitions he has", Mr. Gallagher told Castiel and he promised to come again once their move was over.

  
They were walking down the corridor when Charlie started to ask what he had seen.

  
"There was just ropes. And nakedness", Castiel told her, a bit disgusted at the mental image of Mr. Gallagher naked.

  
"But none of the victims had any rope marks on them. And they weren't sexually abused in any way", she recited the facts frowning until her face lit up and a suggestive smirk spread onto her face.

  
"Kinky", she said with a low voice and waggled her brows. Castiel almost puked.

  
After stopping by the assistant on their way out- and Charlie getting her number and date for next Friday- they argued where they should go eat dinner. Defiantly, Charlie stopped at Taco Bell when Castiel had suggested a burger place.

  
"We should take Dean and Benny lunch and eat with them and try to pry what they have found out", she stated.

  
"Aren't they busy?" Castiel asked when they walked into the line. Charlie had just waved him off when she narrowed her eyes on something that was behind his back. He turned around and saw Dean and detective Lafitte sitting in the corner booth.

  
"I think they saved us from the trip", she said, smiling and waving at the detectives. Castiel too gave the two men a small wave, and smiled when Dean's eyes seemed to sparkle once they settled on him. Blushing, he turned his head and felt Charlie's calculating gaze on the back of his head.

  
They ordered their food- Castiel had never had a burrito in his life and was very excited to try- and joined the detectives. Dean asked how their day had been so far and made sure that Castiel had had a good time working in the shop. He really had had a great time there and he could have worked there a little longer but Charlie needed her adventure time and their workday had been cut short. Not that they were going to tell Dean that. Charlie had been very thorough when she explained what Dean would do to them if he found out what they were up to. That in itself was very concerning and made Castiel question even further their survival.

  
It was nice to hear Dean and Charlie bickering like real siblings, and it made Castiel miss Gabriel. Even though his brother was a little shit he couldn't imagine his life without him. When they started to tell him and Benny about their pranks, Castiel joined the conversation by telling in turn what kind of torture he has gone through as Gabriel's little brother.

  
"The worst one was when I had this crush on a boy in my class. Then, on a Valentines Day I find this note in my locker, telling me that he wants to meet me after school. I told my friends all about it and was so excited to finally have a date with him. But then there was only Gabriel, almost choking on his own spit when he saw my confused face. It was embarrassing to say the least when my friends found out", he told them, almost groaning in emotional pain.

  
Charlie rolled her eyes and looked at Dean with an expression like she was so done with Dean's shit."Big brothers, dude", she said and shook her head.

  
"My brother loves everything sweet but we don't get much cake in the carnival", Castiel started and smiled from the memory when he had actually got a good revenge on his brother, "so I bought sponges and decorated them as cakes, put chocolate frosting on them and all, and told him to not touch those because I was going to save them for myself for the evening. Of course he couldn't resist and went and eat them. The look on his face after the first bite...", Castiel concluded, chuckling along with the others. They told a few more tales, Charlie and Dean getting into an argument over which one of their pranks had been the best.

  
"We ain't stepping into this war", Benny told them when Dean started to ask his and Castiel's opinions on whose prank had been the best.

  
All the coffee Castiel had drank that day was taking its toll on his bladder so he excused himself. Luckily no one was there and he could do his business in peace. When he was putting his gloves back on, Dean entered and pointed at the chest of his own shirt, "For owning a cafe that girl is clumsy". There was a huge brown spot in the middle of the shirt and Castiel grimaced. It must have burned.

  
"Well, accidents happen", Castiel comforted and helped Dean to wipe the shirt with wet papers.

  
He blushed when he felt Dean's hard chest under his hands and gazed up to Dean's eyes from under his lashes. Dean took a hold of his wrist and Castiel lifted his eyes up to Dean's.

  
Dean was so close to him that his lips almost touched his nose, and his breath ghosted over his cheek. His green eyes were flitting between his eyes and mouth. He had never believed that someone could look this beautiful in bathroom lighting.

  
Castiel was startled when Dean brought his lips to his and instinctively took a step back. Still, he had gotten a good glimpse inside of Dean's head and that was a no-no when Dean wasn't aware of it.

  
Dean opened his eyes, frowning and looking hurt.

  
"I'm sorry", Dean said and blushed, more from anger at himself than embarrassment.

  
"I shouldn't have- I read you wrong", he continued. Only when he was leaving did Castiel come to his senses and stopped him.

  
"I wanted it", he told him firmly, "I just don't think that you understand what you're getting yourself into with me", he told him. Dean still looked a bit hurt and angry but he was listening.

  
"Then explain me", he asked softly and put his hand around his wrist again as if to make sure that neither of them was escaping from this.

  
"When we kiss, I see everything. When I touch someone, I see everything. When I have...sex...I see everything. I'm going to see every part of you, every memory you have, every dark secret you're hiding, I see them sooner or later no matter if I want it or not", he explained and looked at Dean's expressions changing. The one it settled on was thoughtfulness.

  
"Not many would think it worth it", he added sadly, "So you have to ask yourself if I'm worth the trouble".

  
Dean looked at him quietly and opened his mouth to say something but their bubble was burst when a customer walked in and took a look at them, hand still on the handle.

  
"Am I interrupting something important?" he asked and Castiel shook his head.

  
"We were just leaving", he told the young man and led the way back to Charlie and Benny.

  
"I think we should leave and stop bothering them in the middle of their investigation", Castiel told Charlie and with a confused face she nodded and they said their goodbyes. Dean was left looking after him like a lost puppy and Castiel knew Charlie was going to confront him about it once they were in the car, driving to meet Mr. Kingston. 

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

Castiel had messed up his thoughts completely.

  
So, one moment he had been cleaning his shirt and then all of a sudden he had been gazing into Castiel's blue eyes and kissed those soft lips.

  
And Castiel had pulled away.

  
It had hurt to be rejected, and it still did even though he now knew why Castiel hadn't indulged in the kiss. It was sad that it would come down to Dean's decision and if he thought Castiel was worth the trouble. But would Dean be worth Castiel's trouble? Would Castiel be able to accept the dark secrets Dean carried around when he inevitably would find out? But Castiel already knew the darkest one and hadn't ran away. So, score one for Dean already? But seriously, they really needed to talk about it, maybe later that day before going to bed.

  
"Dean, we're here", Benny startled him from his thoughts. They were parked at ArtSaves, a charity where Kingston and his friend worked. Evan Finnigan was one of Kingston's alibis and they had decided to check him first since he was available.

  
Evan Finnigan, "just call me Evie", was energetic young man with his light brown eyes full of life and who gushed the first five minutes about their work. All the money went to depressed teens and children who couldn't afford therapy or medication. They also gave variety of art lessons for free and threw events where they let the kids show off their skills. Dean totally slipped a twenty in to the donation jar.

  
"So, _Evie_ , your friend Rick Kingston is one of our suspects on a murder investigation. I think you've heard of those boys", Dean stated and showed him the pictures.

  
"Yeah, I've heard of them", Evan told them and took the picture of Brian.

  
"Brian was one of the people we helped. His friend brought him here one day. He was really closed off, and only when I brought him to the piano and taught him the Little star-song he started to open up", he told them, little smile playing on his lips, and gave the picture back. The edges were dented from his tight grip and Dean smoothed it a bit against his thigh. "He looked like a guy who would like either to play a piano or work with clay, you know".

  
"His father was our first suspect", Benny told him.

  
Evan snorted, "No wonder. He was a complete bastard. But why is Rickie your suspect?"

  
"We have evidence that the killer is a music teacher", Benny told him, and Dean almost laughed on the 'evidence' part.

  
"There are other teachers than the ones in schools", Evan told them like they hadn't thought about that possibility. He fiddled with his lip piercing nervously, and Dean thought that Evan was just worried for his friend. It was clear that he wanted to proof that Mr. Kingston didn't have anything to do with the murders.

  
"We know", Benny stated.

  
"Can you confirm that Rick Kingston was with you on the night when Brian went missing?" Dean asked.

  
"We spend the whole night together with some of our other friends when he went missing. We were planning our next art show", he told them. It was pretty solid, and with the fact that there were plenty of other people witnessing it too there wasn't much room for doubt.

  
"What kind of car do you drive, Evan?" Benny asked. Dean was pretty ready to leave since Evan was confirming his friend's alibi, and by doing so he had also confirmed having an alibi himself.

  
"It's in the shop. The engine's been acting up and they needed to order a part for it. I told them that they didn't have to sweat over it. I've been biking a lot, gaining muscle. My ex told me that I was too lazy", he chuckled. Many of the town's people seemed to bike and Dean was starting to think that maybe he should start too.

  
"Well then, I think that's all for now. Call if there's anything that comes to your mind", Dean concluded. Evan walked them out and waved them off when they pulled out of the parking lot. They decided to stop by the station because Benny had forgotten his phone there that morning.

  
When they got to the station they were told that another boy was missing. Gideon Williams's mother was frantic, tears blackened by her mascara running down her cheeks and voice shaking as she told them that her boy hadn't been home for the night or gone to school that morning.

  
"When the teacher called I tried to look for him. He's such a conscientious boy, he wouldn't skip school if he wasn't sick", she told them.

  
"When was the last time you saw him, Mrs. Williams?" Dean asked. The woman worried her lower lip, drawing a bit of blood. Her body was stiff, shoulders drawn up to her ears.

  
"Yesterday morning, before he left for school. He wasn't home when I came back from work but I didn't think anything of it, he likes to stay with his friends. I called Jackson before I came here but he told me that he hadn't seen him after school", Mrs. Williams hiccuped, burying her face into her hands. It struck to Dean as odd that like most parents, Mrs. Williams wasn't begging them to find her son, wasn't shouting at them to _do something_  or demanding that they find his son alive and bring him to her. There was lot of I in her speech but not once had she said _Gideon_  or _my son_.

  
Looking at her more closely, he could see splotches of wine on her forest green shirt that she had tried to cover up with a purple scarf. Luckily she hadn't cried so much that her eyes would be all red and puffy and Dean could see that the white of her eyes was a bit yellowed from liver problems. Her hands shook slightly when she wrote down Jackson's number for them to check out.

  
He might have found the connection between the boys.

 


	10. Chapter 10

  
Charlie insisted that they drive to the school first and check if Mr. Kingston was still there. And because nothing's ever too easy in Castiel's life they drove to the wrong one and ended up in the clutches of Ms. Morrell. Castiel had to physically restrain Charlie from strangling her when she kept going on about how ignorant Charlie was for buying a car which produces so much emission, continuing to scold her for not keeping any organic food in her cafe (yes, she had visited her little shop recently and wasn't impressed).  


Charlie was seething when they sat back into the car.

  
"Go and find something she loves so we can destroy it while she watches", she gritted through her teeth and Castiel was a little bit scared for both him and Ms. Morrell. They ended up slashing Ms. Morrell's tires in compromise because Charlie refused to leave without revenge.

  
"Are you sure it's a good idea to continue?" Castiel asked when they were heading towards the right school. Charlie nodded furiously.

  
"Of course! Anger is a good thing, it makes you more determined", she explained and Castiel nodded to please her. He didn't dare to disagree with her. The rest of the ride was silent, and even when they were parking the car Charlie was uncharacteristically quiet.

  
The high school building wasn't a pretty sight. It was old and everything seemed rusty and broken. He wouldn't be surprised if mold was found there some of these days. The yard was big though with lot of room for hanging out and playing games. There was even Twister painted onto the asphalt and the spinning chart next to it. Trees had been let to grow and the yard would have looked so much nicer if there had been leafs in the trees lessening the creepiness. Castiel blamed Balthazar for telling all those ghost stories and scaring the life out of him. Sometimes he even flinched when he was met with a little child- Balthazar loved those demon child stories.

  
"I think this is Dean's old school", Charlie told him, and Castiel wondered what kind of trouble Dean had caused. Maybe Dean had been one of those seniors that wanted to leave a mark behind and wrote something obnoxious on the bathroom wall. Gabriel had been one of those with an artistic twist, and had drawn a dick pick right next to his greetings to underclassmen.

  
The assistant, Mrs. Walker, was a nice old lady who was eager to help them. She was one of Charlie's regulars and gushed over how adorable Castiel was. Which he wasn't. He was manly. And big. He was a big and manly man who wasn't in anyway adorable. Charlie though had that dangerous glint in her eyes and Castiel was fearing the worst again. After having to explain what had happened in the bathroom Charlie had been adamant that Castiel hooked up with Dean.

  
"You'd be so cute together! You with your awkwardness and common sense and Dean with his spontaneous and self-confidence would make the perfect match!" she had gushed but Castiel still wasn't convinced. There was a spark there between him and Dean but was it lasting?

  
"I'm sorry but Mr. Kingston has already left. But he might be working at the ArtSaves. You should go there and ask around a bit", she suggested. They also got his work number if they didn't find him from ArtSaves. They thanked Mrs. Walker- Charlie promising that her next coffee she bought from her shop would be on the house- and drove with the instructions she had given them, this time not getting lost.

  
"It was one time!" Charlie huffed.

  
"I've lost my trust for your navigation skills forever", Castiel declared in mock-harshness and got punched on his arm.

  
ArtSaves was a relatively new building not quite in the center of the town. There was a front desk kept by a volunteer with a  bouquet of tulips and a jar of cash were people could leave little donations if they wanted.

  
"Excuse me?" Charlie asked from the front lady who smiled politely at the both of them.

  
"How may I help you?" she asked with a silvery voice.

  
"We're looking for Mr. Kingston. Would he happen to be working tonight?" Charlie asked and the front lady started to go over her little notebook.

  
"No, I'm afraid he's not. But his friend Evan is in, maybe he'd know where he is", she suggested and instructed them to knock on the second door on the right. They thanked her and walked to the door.

  
"Shouldn't we just wait for tomorrow?" Castiel asked right before Charlie knocked on the door. She smiled sheepishly at him, obviously too curious to stop now and opened the door. The rooms were sound proofed and once they opened the door a familiar song filled Castiel's ears.

  
"From the top, Sarah", a voice told and the song started up again.

  
Castiel stopped.

  
"From the top, from the top, _fromthetop_..."

  
It was him. He was the killer.

  
He grabbed Charlie's sleeve and pointed at the man teaching a ten year old girl a little further from them.

  
"He's the one, Charlie", he whispered and her eyes widened in alarm.

  
"Let's go outside and call Dean", she told him, and as quietly as possible they backed away and fled.

  
Almost.

  
The front room was empty, even the front lady was gone, and all the teachers were having classes in their soundproofed rooms. Castiel thought they were clear and they could call the police to handle the situation.

  
But as Charlie reached for the massive door handle, Castiel felt something between his shoulder blades.

  
He froze.

  
A gun was pointed at him. Charlie turned slightly to see why he had stopped and froze too, eyes watching something over his head.

  
"Now, you'll do as I say and I won't shoot him", Evan told them. They both nodded and the man pressed close to Castiel to hide his gun.

  
"Walk over to your car, sit on the driver's seat and follow my instructions. Me and your friend are going to bond in the backseat, aren't we?" he asked sweetly, and after getting another nod from them he gestured for Charlie to start walking. Castiel hoped that Dean and Benny had cracked the case and were driving there at the very moment.  
But those saving lights didn't appear, and Charlie started driving towards a place that could become their grave.

  
"How did you even get on to me? You were suspecting Ricky and that old man", Evan asked angrily and tightened his hand around Castiel's neck. His first instinct was to pull it away but he didn't want to piss the man off even further and made his hands stay still.

  
"Look, asshole, we don't even know your name", Charlie huffed, acting angry, but from the glances she kept making through the rearview mirror Castiel knew that she was scared for their lives. It was good thing that neither of them had let the fear overcome them and that they both were able to think clearly.

  
"What?!" Evan yelled and oh God, Castiel was really going to suffocate before they were going to be where this crazy man wanted to take them. "You aren't cops?" he almost shrieked.

  
"No!" Charlie bit back and the gun dig into Castiel's back. He squirmed but Evan didn't relent.

  
"Then what the hell were you doing there, looking like I murdered someone?"

  
"Did you then?" Charlie asked, "Only guilty people are paranoid like that".

  
The gun moved and was pressed to the back of Castiel's head.

  
"You keep talking and I shoot his brains out", he snarled and Charlie pressed her lips tightly together. Castiel started to paw the hand around his neck, and fortunately Evan let him a little loose so he could breath more easily. Cold sweat was dripping down his neck and fear was squeezing his heart in its hold. What if the gun went off on its own? He'd be dead in a second. And then Charlie would be the next victim.

  
"Stop here", Evan ordered and just to spite him Charlie slammed the brakes on, making the car screech. They were in front of a well maintained house. There were no neighbors nearby and Castiel tried to remember how many houses he had seen on their way. But all the memories of the ride were muffled but maybe that was understandable in this situation.

  
"Get to the door", he told them, and Charlie was the first to exit the car. Then Castiel and the gunman shuffled rather awkwardly out because Evan's arm was still around Castiel's neck, the gun pointing his back again.

  
When they were at the door, Charlie was ordered to take a key from under the pot of dirt and open the door. Her hands shook a bit as she fit the key into the lock and stepped hesitantly inside. They took the place in and it looked so normal. A white couch, living room table, black piano and a large TV screen filled the living room nicely and the scent of freshly baked muffins really made the place feel like someone's home.

  
"Move the table and mat", Evan told them and together they lifted the table away. Castiel was the one who kneeled down to move the mat and discovered the hatch to their prison.

  
"Open it", he was instructed and he pulled it open.

  
"Ladies first", the man sneered and chin held high Charlie descended the wobbly ladders down. Castiel eyed Evan, contemplating if he could take him. He was slightly bigger and taller than him but Castiel was strong, he was physically fit and the only thing he had to do was wrestle the gun out of the man's hand. Maybe he could shoot him in the leg and call help.

  
Once Charlie was down and out of the way Castiel tackled Evan, taking a hold of the gun. They wrestled on the floor and for a moment Castiel was winning, almost having the gun to himself.

  
A deafening shot rang and for a second Castiel lost his concentration.

  
But it was enough for Evan to overpower him and point the gun at his face. He looked mad with his hair standing up, blotches of blood on his shirt and eyes wide from adrenaline. It was the first time Castiel saw his face fully. A burning pain on the right side of his head was worrying and he knew the bullet had grazed him. How badly, that he didn't know.

  
"Stand up and drop down to the hole".

  
Slowly, Castiel did that, keeping his hands up in plain sight. The man didn't even wait for him to reach the bottom when the hatch was closed and they were left with a dim light in to the room. There was a body in one corner, wrapped tightly inside a blanket. Charlie was kneeling next to him, checking to boy over but he remained unconscious.

  
"Sound proofed", Charlie told him as she stood up and started to inspect his head with wide, concerned eyes.

  
"Holy shit, your ear!" she exclaimed and undressed her thin flannel shirt for Castiel to press against the wound. The blood had dripped down the side of his neck in a sickening way, and he didn't even dare to ask how much of it was left.

  
They didn't know how long they were down there- but it felt like an eternity- before the hatch was opened again and Castiel was being dragged back up. Charlie screamed at Evan to stop, to let him go but he backhanded her, causing her to fly to the floor.

  
He sat Castiel down to the piano and demanded that he played.

  
"But I can't play!" Castiel shouted back and the lid was smashed onto his hands. He should've remembered that, he had seen that happening.

  
"From the top!" Evan yelled and Castiel tried to remember the song his mother had taught him when he was little and wanted to start to play piano like her.

  
"From the fucking notes!" he clarified and brought the lid down again. Castiel wondered why in the hell was he supposed to play with injured hands and looked up at Evan.

  
"I can't play", he told him again, receiving the same treatment.

  
"From the top!"

  
Castiel held his hands close to his chest and refused to play.

  
The gun was pressed to his temple.

  
"From the top"

 


	11. Chapter 11

 

"Mrs. Williams, is your son depressed?" Dean asked after clearing his throat.

  
"No, he is not depressed! Heavens no! I would have noticed", she told them with a shaky voice. She kept her eyes down, still worrying her lip.

  
"Is he abused?" Dean prompted.

  
"He is not abused!" she shouted at him, "He has never been hit, I can guarantee you that!"

  
"What about your alcohol problem? Maybe you don't remember hitting him", Dean provoked her, finally seeing her true colors.

  
"What I drink and how much isn't your concern", she told them, straightening her scarf to cover up the stains.

  
"It is if you have neglected or abused your child", Benny told her. He seemed to be more intimidating in her eyes because she stiffened again, falling silent.

  
"It's only a couple of glasses", she mumbled, more to convince herself than the detectives. "I don't have any problems. I'm a capable mother, good mother", she continued while Dean gave Benny a meaningful look before motioning for a nearby officer to deal with her so they could leave to question Jackson.

* * *

 

 

Jackson was sitting at his seat, leg bouncing up and down nervously as Dean and Benny sized him up and down. He looked like one of those goody-two-shoes with his white button-up, thick rimmed glasses and slicked-back hair. Or maybe he was one of those hipsters Dean kept hearing about.

  
"You are the last one to see your friend Gideon before he went missing", Benny stated and Jackson popped his head as a yes.

  
"Did he say if he was going anywhere? Meeting anyone?" Dean asked. Jackson didn't meet their eyes as he shook his head. His lips were dry, and he was ripping the dry skin with his teeth. Dean licked his own in sympathy.

  
"Are you absolutely sure?" Benny prompted, "You're not betraying him in anyway if you tell us".

  
Jackson's gaze flitted between the two detectives before he leaned over to them as if telling a great secret.

  
"He was meeting this one guy, you know. They meet every week", he told them.

  
"Who?"

  
Jackson shook his head again, "I don't know, he never told me. He just, you know, wanted out of the house. My mom thinks he's a thug and doesn't want him around that much so he goes to the guy's house".

  
"Do you know what they did together there?"

  
Jackson shrugged.

  
"He learned to play the guitar and, I don't know, hang out".

  
"Where?"

  
"At the charity next to the beauty salon", Jackson told them.

  
"Is there anything else you'd like us to know?" Dean asked. From the anxious look on the boy's face he knew this was the most they were getting out of him. But everything was pointing at Mr. Kingston, and Dean would bet all of his money on him being the killer.

* * *

 

"How do you know it's Rick Kingston?" Benny asked Dean.

  
"All the boys were having trouble. Brian was depressed, Kyle was 'acting up' and Gideon has been ignored by his mother. I think that all of them sought help from ArtSaves and Rick took them under his wing. He got his friend Evan to lie for him and there you go. He had an opportunity and he took it".

  
"But why would Evan lie for him?"

  
"Are you kidding me? They're close like brothers. Evan wouldn't want his best friend ending up in jail so he lies for him. Or, better yet, they're working together. How else would they dump the bodies without anyone noticing? The other is keeping an eye out for possible witnesses while the other takes care of the body", Dean explained. Benny looked thoughtful when they pulled up to the charity.

The blonde woman at the reception was filing her nails when the two detectives entered while two officers were heading to Mr. Kingston's house with a warrant.  
She smiled politely at them and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

  
"How I can help you, detectives?" she asked once they had reached her.

  
"We're looking for Rick Kingston. Would he happen to be working here tonight?" Benny asked. The woman shook her head.

  
"No, he's not here tonight. I think he had to prepare some classes or something", she explained, "here's his address". She began to write something onto a slip of paper but the detectives were out the door before she got to finish.

  
Benny radioed the police officers at Mr. Kingston's house but they too had come out empty handed. They hadn't found anything that would've pointed that Mr. Kingston was holding anybody as his prisoner there.

  
"What's Evan's address? I bet he's there. Maybe they are holding the victims there".

* * *

 

Evan had only a few neighbors and those too didn't have a straight line of sight to Evan's yard because of tall bushes. Just to be sure, Dean parked their car a little away from the house so Evan or Rick wouldn't see or hear them coming before they went in. They walked around the bush fence, and came around a painfully familiar car.

"What's Charlie's car doing here?" Dean asked. What had Charlie and Castiel gotten themselves into? They had seen them just a few hours ago on their way to Charlie's. Or so he hoped. 

They drew their guns and walked up to the door. Before they opened the door, it was opened by Rick, who made shushing motions at them. Dean and Benny glanced each other briefly but followed him back inside.

  
"Who was it?" Evan asked as Rick entered the living room. The detectives stayed behind the corner and listened in on them.

  
"Just some guy lost", Rick told him, "You can put your gun down now, maybe go clean up the blood off your face". Dean heard the slight tremors in his voice but couldn't help but wonder whose blood it was. A bad feeling was spreading from his chest, and he hoped he wouldn't be forced to see Charlie's or Castiel's body on the floor.

  
"Okay, yeah. Help me move the body first. He's quite heavy".

  
Dean nodded at Benny and they stepped into the living room, guns pointing at the two men standing there.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter's a bit all over the place. I didn't really have the motivation to write this week :/ 
> 
> But thank you for those who have commented this story! It's nice to know that you've liked this story so far. :)


	12. Chapter 12

 

Castiel closed his eyes and readied himself for the worst. He didn't want to die, no one did, but if he was going to die in the next few minutes he wanted to go without being afraid.

  
The gun dig into his scalp when they heard knocking from the door. Evan sighed, and Castiel heard him shuffle behind him before he stalked towards the door.

  
"Don't move", Evan told him and pointed the gun at him. Even if he had wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to after the flood of relief made his feet jelly.

  
Other young man stepped into the room, he looked to be the same age as Evan, and stopped shortly before turning slowly to look at Evan.

  
"Evan?" he questioned and motioned towards Castiel, who had tensed again after realizing that help still hadn't arrived.

  
"What are we going to do?" the new guy asked Evan just before his head whipped to the window.

  
"Someone's coming. Stay here", he told Evan and walked to the door. Castiel couldn't see who it was from where he was sitting, and Evan came back to stand by Castiel, gun pointing at his back. Few moments later the guy walked back and Evan asked who had been at the door.

  
"Just some guy lost", he told Evan, "You can put your gun down now. Maybe go clean up the blood off your face".

  
But Evan didn't even get to move a muscle when two men jumped from around the corner, guns raised and pointing at them. Castiel stiffened, and would've fallen over if it hadn't been for Evan standing right behind him and the gun bumping against his head.

  
"Drop your weapon!" Dean ordered. He was closer to them and pointed his gun at Evan's head. Castiel stumbled when Evan snaked his arm around his neck and pulled him off the stool to shield himself.

  
"Listen to them, Evan", the other guy said but Evan only tightened his hold on Castiel's already abused throat.

  
"Let him go, Evan, and we'll talk", Dean tried again.

  
"What's there to talk about? I'll either die or go to jail", Evan told them, "This way, I at least have some leverage".

  
"Evan, please, listen to them", Evan's friend begged.

  
Evan pointed the gun at his friend, momentarily losing his interest in Castiel but to Castiel it was enough to jab his elbow to the guy's ribs and drop down to the floor when the arm loosened around his throat. There was a gun shot but again, Castiel didn't know whose gun it was. At least this time he was off the bullets course.

  
He distinguished foot steps around him among the ringing in his ears and when he dared to look up, Evan's friend was on the floor in handcuffs and Dean was walking to him, asking something from him.

  
"Where's Charlie?" he asked, still frantic but more coherent. Castiel pointed at the mat where the hatch was.

  
"Under the floor", he specified, and Dean hurried there. Benny helped him sit while Dean descented down to the hole. Castiel kept swallowing and opening his mouth to pop his ears.

  
"You okay?" Benny asked.

  
"Yeah, I think so", Castiel nodded. "My ear, is it bad?" He tilted his head so Benny had a better view.

  
"Nothing a couple stitches won't fix", the man assured him and put a comforting hand to his shoulder.

  
Castiel looked over at Charlie crying in Dean's arms, who ran a hand up and down her back in soothing manner. The sight made him want to see his brother and Balthazar and he to hug them both and tell them he loved them. So badly.

  
"I just want to go home", he whispered as Benny's hand disappeared from his shoulder.

 

* * *

 

The house soon swarmed with people running around, and Castiel was taken to the hospital so his ear could be treated. Two stitches were put and he was given antibiotics and pain killers. Charlie had ridden the ambulance with him and had come with him to see the doctor. She had held his hand and watched quietly as Castiel had been treated.

  
"Dean's uncle Bobby is going to pick us up. He takes us to his house", she told him when he was good to go and walking towards the parking lot.

  
Bobby was a gruff guy, and his car looked even more rumpled than he. He had an old baseball cap, jeans with holes in them and a shirt full of paint drops.

  
"Damn you idjits", was the first thing he said when he saw them walking to his car.

  
"I know, Bobby. I was stupid", Charlie muttered. She sat shot gun and Castiel sat behind her. The drive was quiet apart from the cassette tape playing some old rock Castiel didn't recognize. It was nice to be in the quiet and calm car after what had happened, and he nodded off, head against the window.

They pulled up to a scrap yard where a brown haired woman was waiting for them, a very stern but worried look on her face. Guiltily, Charlie shuffled to her and Castiel knew she was preparing for quite the scolding. He saw the moment when the older woman's expression crumpled and she scooped her into her arms.

  
"Come on, I'll show yar room", Bobby startled him. He nodded and followed the old man inside the house and up the stairs.

  
"Shower's there and I'll grab some clothes for ya so ya can wash up", he drawled and disappeared into a room down the hall. He came with a bundle of clothes and Castiel thanked him.

  
"Could I use your phone? I'd like to call my brother", he asked.

  
"Of course ya can", Bobby told him and fished his cell phone from his pocket. Castiel had left his in Charlie's car in fear of breaking it when they'd left the wrong public school, and the car was still at Evan's house. He thanked Bobby and locked himself into the bathroom. He wanted to call his brother so badly but he didn't know if he should tell him yet what had happened.

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

  
Without a further thought, Dean headed to Bobby's after they had wrapped up everything at the station. After calming down, Rick had told them all about Evan's murders. Evan himself had been rushed to the hospital and was having a surgery at the moment. Dean's bullet had hit him in the chest. He had aimed for his shoulder but the situation had been stressful for him, and he had just hoped that he didn't miss.

  
"The first one, Brian, he was an accident", Rick had told them, voice quivering. "Evan's dad had just died and he was the one who was supposed to organize that bastard's funeral, so he was stressed. Brian just got in the way".

  
Dean didn't know how you accidentally torture and strangle someone but stayed quiet.

  
"He called me and asked me to help him hide the body. He told me he had just gotten carried away. So I helped him. But I didn't want to hide him, you know? I wanted his parents to at least have his body".

  
"How generous", Dean had muttered and Benny had kicked him on his calf under the table.

  
"What about the others?" Benny had asked.

  
"I think Evan planned the next ones. After Dennis, he told me that he liked killing them. He liked to be in control at last. I tried to convince him to stop but he wouldn't listen. He threatened to kill me if I ever told anyone anything". A tear had dropped down to the table.

  
"This is more of a relief than anything", he had told them, and Dean had seen the little twitch of a smile on Rick's lips. There was no doubt that Rick was going to go to jail but at least he didn't have to live in fear anymore.

  
When he got to Bobby's, Charlie was already up, dressed in her pyjamas that Dean had bought her for Christmas, and a cup of steaming coffee in her hand. Ellen was making breakfast by the stove and Bobby was watching the morning news from the TV.

  
"Are you alright?" was the first thing Dean asked when he entered the kitchen. He gave both the ladies a kiss to the cheek before pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting to the table across from Charlie.

  
"Been better", Charlie shrugged. She was looking much better than last night. "Am I grounded?" she joked but Dean wasn't amused, and frowned warningly at her.

  
"Sorry", she mumbled and practically hid behind her mug.

  
"Charlie, don't you ever fucking do something like that again, you hear me?" Dean told her. He had been so worried over her and Castiel that he hadn't really worked his anger out yet. It had been a police matter, a murder case, and Charlie hadn't had any business getting involved in it, let alone convince poor Castiel that it was a good idea. She was on thin ice at the moment. And he was angry that she had little regard on how it would've affected their whole family if something had happened to her.

  
She nodded. "Ellen already gave me the talk. I am sorry, Dean. I didn't mean for it to go like this. It was just supposed to be about finding clues", she explained.

  
"Sometimes you're too much like Jo", Ellen put in as she placed the stack of pancakes to the table. Dean agreed wholeheartedly. Why did his little sister he never wanted cause him so much headaches?

 

* * *

 

Dean knocked on Castiel's door and stepped in. Castiel was sitting on the bead, hair all tousled and bags under his eyes. His ear looked good. In fact, when Dean had first seen it, it had looked like half it was missing. Luckily he had seen wrong.

  
"Hey. How're you holding up?" he asked as he sat down to the edge of the bed near Castiel.

  
"I'm okay. It helped to talk with my brother", Castiel assured.

  
"Good, good. What'd he say about all this?"

  
"He went a bit hysterical. Said that he was going to come here even if he had to walk. And that he was going to whoop your ass for getting me into this mess", Castiel chuckled but Dean didn't. Because let's face it. It was his fault. He and Benny had told Castiel to stay, used him to help their case and yeah, Dean should've known that Charlie would jump the opportunity.

  
He was surprised when Castiel took his hand into his own through the blanket- he wasn't wearing his gloves but who would when they were in bed- and squeezed.

  
"It wasn't your fault. I didn't really put up a fight against Charlie when she suggested it. And I'm a big boy anyway", he assured him. And when he put it that way...

  
Dean rubbed the back of his neck after they had both been quiet for a while and cleared his throat. Fuck, he wasn't good in these kind of situations. Maybe it wasn't the best time to discuss their relationship but he needed to get it off his chest before he chickened out.

  
"I was scared that he was going to shoot you. And do you know what the only thing I thought was?"

  
Castiel shook his head.

  
"That you're worth it. That I want to give us a try and see how it turns out"

  
Castiel looked at him, puzzled, and tilted his head.

  
"Besides, you know my darkest secret already", he continued, shrugging like it wasn't a big deal when it totally was.

  
"Your father-"

  
"My dad died because of me"

  
Castiel was silent, his face calm but his eyes, oh his eyes were blazing.

  
"It wasn't your fault he wasn't wearing a seat belt. And it certainly wasn't your fault that an 8-haul ran to a red light", Castiel told and there was authority in his voice.

  
"But if I'd-", Dean started but was cut off.

  
"No, Dean. He didn't put it on. It was his choice. And that haul? The driver wasn't paying attention, you know that. If you hadn't kept your eyes open and dodged, you would be dead too. You were lucky that you survived only with a broken arm". His voice had gotten quieter, softer, but was still full of power.

  
And the most ridiculous thing was, that Dean believed him. Every time Ellen or Bobby or Sammy or anyone else told him it wasn't his fault it was like it went in from one ear and out the other. But now that someone outsider, someone who just seeing it through his eyes, the same eyes that had collected all the evidence and put them into the big _GUILTY_ box, was telling him that it wasn't his fault. Was telling him to let go and move on.

  
And he was starting to think, for the first time, that maybe he could.

  
They held hands for a moment, basking in the more clearer air. It was fucked up that it was Castiel comforting him over something that had happened years ago, when it should've been the other way around; him comforting Castiel and telling him that everything was okay.

  
"I have to go back to the carnival", Castiel told him, and squeezed his fingers, "I have to work until the end of May. It's when my contract ends. If- if we're still on-board with this, I could maybe move here? Look for a job?"

  
Dean hated how hopeful his own face looked and how his stomach was filled with butterflies but who gave a damn anyway? He was happy, so fucking happy he couldn't remember when was the last time he had felt this way.

  
And over a guy he had first hated. A guy he had met only a couple of days ago.

  
"I'd like that", he said, "I'd like that very much".

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the last one. I've been thinking about continuing the story and making it a series. The next one would be a couple of months later in their lives when their relationship has been established but Castiel is still with the carnival. Castiel would be accused of murder in a little town where his ability is considered demonic. And Castiel's past would be brought up too, like how he and Gabriel ended up with the carnival. Or hopefully, I haven't really planned anything yet xD 
> 
> Thank you for reading this, let me know what you think about it, and hopefully some of you would like to read more.


End file.
